


(so you'll know the sound of) someone who loves you

by mischief7manager



Series: do you still believe in love i wonder [1]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Animal Abuse, Animal Death, First Meetings, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-06-03 16:36:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6618172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mischief7manager/pseuds/mischief7manager
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Vex shouldn’t even have been out at all, really, except Vax had done the thing where he finished the milk and put the empty bottle back in the fridge so she didn’t realize they were out until 8:30 on a Sunday night, and Vex would be damned if she’d let her brother’s annoying habits keep her from having milk in her coffee the next morning, so out into the late autumn chill she went. She had her hood up and her hands in her jacket pockets, bracing herself against the cold wind. The weather was just starting to turn from fall to winter, and she was in a hurry to get to the store and get back, when she heard a strange noise coming from a side alley."</p><p>Vex goes out for groceries and comes back with a dog.</p>
            </blockquote>





	(so you'll know the sound of) someone who loves you

**Author's Note:**

> Happy 50th episode, Critical Role! I got you Sadness.
> 
> Everything I know about animal care, I learned from watching Vet Ranch videos on youtube (check them out, they do good work) so apologies for any inaccuracies. Content warning for animal death, description of animal injury, and references to past animal abuse/cruelty. Title from "Satellite Call" by Sara Bareilles. No spoilers.

Vex was walking to the grocery store when she heard the first whimper.

She shouldn’t even have been out at all, really, except Vax had done the thing where he finished the milk and put the empty bottle back in the fridge so she didn’t realize they were out until 8:30 on a Sunday night, and Vex would be damned if she’d let her brother’s annoying habits keep her from having milk in her coffee the next morning, so out into the late autumn chill she went. She had her hood up and her hands in her jacket pockets, bracing herself against the cold wind. The weather was just starting to turn from fall to winter, and she was in a hurry to get to the store and get back, when she heard a strange noise coming from a side alley. 

She stopped at the alley entrance, pushing her hood back to get a listen. A voice in the back of her head reminded her that this was the exact start to every episode of every procedural crime drama she’d never admit to watching, but she clamped down on her instinctive paranoia. She had mace, and her phone, and she had, she’d been told, quite a piercing scream. If this was a ploy to get her down a back alley for a mugging, it would end very poorly for the attempted mugger.

“Hello?” she called out. There was quiet for a moment, before another whimper echoed down the alley. Vex stepped closer, squinting in the darkness to find the source. “Anybody there?” She was halfway down the alley when she saw it. At first she assumed it was just a pile of garbage, until it moved and she realized the truth: 

Lying on the cold, dirty ground was a dog. As Vex stepped forward, it lifted its head and whined. She wondered for a moment why it didn’t bark, but as she knelt next to it she thought even that might be too much of an effort for the creature. The dog was skin and bones, and that was being generous. She could easily count its ribs, and its hipbones jutted out at a gutwrenching angle from its back end. But that wasn’t the worst of it. Pulling out her phone for some light, Vex realized the dog was covered in wounds and cuts, in varying stages of healing. Some were superficial, but many were deep, and she gagged as the scent of infected flesh hit her nose. This dog had been hurting for a while, and no one had noticed. Or cared. 

Vex bit her lip. It wasn’t a large dog, maybe 50 pounds at most. She could probably get it to a shelter or a vet nearby. But then what? She didn’t have the money to pay for vet care, especially not for a dog that would clearly require a lot of it. Her and Vax’s apartment allowed pets, but could they really afford a dog? They’d been on their own for a while now, and making ends meet was hard enough for just the two of them.

Hesitantly, Vex reached a hand out and rested it on the dog’s head, scratching behind its ears as gently as she could. The dog looked up at her, whimpering. As Vex watched, slowly and barely moving, its tail began to wag.

That settled it. “Okay,” Vex said, keeping her voice low and soothing. “Don’t worry, buddy. I’m gonna get you to some help.” 

After some quick searching on her phone, she found a vet’s office a few minutes’ walk from where she was. Hopefully, they’d still be open when she got there. With that taken care of, she reached for the dog and slowly began lifting it into her arms. The dog began whining louder, thrashing in Vex’s arms.

“I know, I know,” she said, “I know it hurts, it’s gonna be alright.” She tried to get a better hold, but the dog pulled itself away, actually getting to its feet. It hobbled a few steps towards a dumpster further down the alley before its legs gave out. Even then, it stretched its head out, whuffing frantically. Vex frowned. “Okay. Okay. What is it, buddy?” She knelt next to the dog again, running a reassuring hand over its back. It was then that she heard the noise coming from under the dumpster. 

Slowly, she walked to the dumpster and stretched out next to it, squinting into the darkness. She could just make out a small, round, wriggling form, and without hesitating she reached for it. Her hand wrapped around something warm and furry. She pulled out a puppy, no heavier than two pounds. It squirmed in her hands, yipping softly. At the noise, the dog behind her whined even louder. 

Vex swallowed hard. “You’re a momma, huh,” she said, kneeling next to the dog so she could see her puppy was alright. “Here you go.” The dog whimpered, licking the puppy in Vex’s hands. It whimpered, trying to move towards its mother. 

Vex blinked against the moisture filling her eyes. “Okay,” she said, taking a deep breath. “Now we need to go.” After checking under and around the dumpster to be sure there were no other puppies, Vex did the only thing she could think to do: gingerly place the puppy in her hood, feeling its weight settle against her back, since her jacket pockets weren’t large enough to hold it. She carefully picked up the mother dog, balancing her in one arm long enough to zip her jacket up around them both. “You’re doing so good,” she said softly, cradling the injured creature to her. “Just hold on a little longer.” 

Vex’s arms ached by the time she made it to the strip of stores and offices that held Ashari Animal Clinic. There were lights on, shining through the glass storefront, and Vex let out a breath of relief she didn’t realize she’d been holding. Peering in, she could see a slender, red-haired woman bent over some kind of paperwork at the front counter. Vex shifted the dog in her arms and rapped sharply on the glass door. 

The woman started, her head whipping up to find the source of the noise. When she saw Vex, her jacket bulging and a dog peeking out from under her chin, she stood and hurried to open the door. “We’re about to close,” the woman said, eyes widening when she saw the dog’s obvious injuries.

“I know it’s late, I’m sorry,” Vex said, the words pouring out of her, “but I was just walking to the store and I found them like this and I think she’s hurt badly, I don’t have a lot of money, but is there anything you can do to help, I’m sorry for barging in like this-”

The woman stepped back. “Come on through to the back,” she said, waving Vex in and flipping the sign on the door to “Closed” behind her. “I’ll see what I can do for…” She frowned. “You said them?”

Vex nodded. “In my hood.” She jerked her head back a little.

The woman moved around and reached into Vex’s hood, pulling out the puppy. “Oh, hey, little one,” she cooed, cradling it to her chest. “Let’s see if we can’t make you and your mom feel better.” She smiled at Vex. “I’m Keyleth, by the way. I’m one of the vets here.”

Vex smiled back, tightly. “Vex. Where did you say-”

Keyleth nodded. “Right. Animals first, introductions later. This way.” 

She led Vex through the clinic to one of the back rooms, where she had Vex put the dog down on a table so she could begin assessing her injuries. Vex watched as Keyleth drew blood from the mother and the puppy, weighed the puppy, placed a box on the table and set the puppy in it, went over the wounds and cuts on the mother, and other medical tasks that Vex didn’t know enough about to understand the purpose of. She did understand the look on Keyleth’s face as she inspected the mother, however; whatever she was finding, it wasn’t good. 

After about ten minutes, Keyleth sighed. “Alright. Well. There’s good news and bad news.”

Vex swallowed. “The good news?”

Keyleth smiled softly. “The puppy’s probably going to be fine. It’s a boy, I’d guess no more than two weeks old. He’s a little undernourished, and I’ll have to give him some deworming solution, but with the right care, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t grow up and live a long, happy life.”

Vex nodded slowly. “And the mother?”

Keyleth sighed again, sinking onto a stool next to the table. “Her injuries are… Bad. Most of them are infected, and have been for a while. She’s got several broken bones, as well as old fractures that haven’t healed properly, and she’s bleeding internally.”

“How did she get like this?” Vex voice trembled, against her will. “Was it a hit and run? Was she hit by a car or something?”

Keyleth shook her head. “A run in with a car wouldn't leave these kinds of injuries. See here?” She ran a hand over one of the dogs deeper wounds. “These are bite marks. If I had to guess, I’d say somebody was probably using her as a bait dog.”

Vex’s blood ran cold. “A bait dog?”

Keyleth nodded, her eyes hard. “Dogfighting rings will use them to train their fighters. When they’re no more use, they just-” She gripped the edge of the table. Vex could see her knuckles go white. “They just throw them out with the garbage.” She lifted a hand to scratch behind the puppy’s ears. “This little guy was probably the runt of her litter. They didn’t want to put in the effort to keep him without her to feed him, so. Out he went.” 

Vex curled her hands into fists, feeling them shaking at her sides. “But she’ll be okay, though, yes? The mother? You can fix her?” 

“Not with these injuries.” Keyleth met her gaze, and Vex could see the sorrow in the other woman’s eyes. “I’m sorry, Vex. You did the right thing, bringing her in, but the kindest thing at this point is to put her down.” 

Vex blinked, trying and failing to keep tears at bay. “Fuck,” she said. Angrily, she reached up to swipe at the wetness on her cheek. “It’s not- It’s not fucking  _ fair. _ ” 

“I know.” Keyleth placed a hand on her arm. “I know it’s not fair. And I hate that I have to do this, but I’m gonna need you to help me.”

Vex glanced over at her. “Help you?”

“With the procedure.” Keyleth’s voice was calm and quiet, not unlike Vex’s had been when she was trying to soothe the dog. “The vet techs have all gone home. I’m gonna need you to hold her while I administer the shot.”

Vex shook her head. “No. I can’t, I- I can’t help you kill her, I-”

“ _ Vex _ .” Keyleth cut her off, taking Vex’s hand in hers. “I know this is hard, but she’s in a lot of pain right now, and it’s too late for me to be able to fix her. Please. Will you help me?”

Vex took a deep breath. “Okay,” she said. “Okay. Tell me what to do.”

Keyleth squeezed her hand, once, the led her to the table. “Just hold her up like this.” She arranged the dog in Vex’s arms. “I need you to hold her here so I can find the vein. Just stay there for a minute while I get the solution.” 

As Keyleth gathered her supplies, Vex held the dog to her chest. “It’s gonna be alright,” she said, feeling the dog nuzzle up to lick at her jaw. “It’s all gonna be ok soon.” She didn’t know who she was talking to at that point: the dog, or herself.

At last, Keyleth moved next to the table. “Alright,” she said. “It’s time.” 

Vex nodded, leaning down to press her cheek to the top of the dog’s head. “Go ahead,” she said, not even trying to keep her voice steady anymore.

Keyleth nodded, and picked up the needle. Vex closed her eyes. She kept them closed as she listened to Keyleth’s moments, as the dog in her arms took slower and shallower breaths, until finally her breathing stopped. 

When Vex opened her eyes, Keyleth was standing next to her, a hand on her shoulder. “You alright?” she asked.

Vex bit her lip. “I didn’t even give her a name,” she said, and that, it seemed was the last straw, because she finally burst into tears. 

Keyleth didn’t say anything. She just helped Vex lay the dog back on the table and grabbed Vex some tissues, rubbing a soothing hand over her back as she cried. 

After a few minutes, Vex cried herself out. She sniffled, wiping her nose. “Sorry,” she said, but Keyleth shook her head.

“Don’t be,” she said. “It’s always hard.” 

Vex took a deep breath, and looked over at the box where the puppy lay, currently curled up and sleeping. “What about him?” she asked. “Where does he go?”

Keyleth squeezed Vex’s shoulder one more time before slipping back into professional mode. “He’ll probably go to a foster home for a while, then to a shelter once he’s on solid foods. From there, we’ll just have to hope he gets adopted.”

“What if I wanted to adopt him?”

Vex didn’t know why she said it. She was still poor, she still lived in a shitty apartment with her brother, she still had a shitty job that paid a shitty wage. But, well. She knew she was projecting, but the thought of leaving this tiny thing, this small life that has nothing and no one in the world to look out for him, the thought of walking out of the clinic tonight and never seeing him again… She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t help his mother, but she could help him.

“Are you sure?” Keyleth wasn’t quite skeptical, but neither was she convinced. “He’s going to need a lot of attention. I’m talking feeding every three hours, baths. You’ll have to housebreak him yourself. And that’s just when he’s little. See his paws?” Keyleth reached into the box and gently lifted one of the paws in question. “Look at them proportional to his body. This guy’s gonna be big when he grows up. Like,  _ big. _ And he’ll probably shed, like, a lot.”

“I don’t care.” Vex ran a gentle hand over the puppy’s head. He stirred and whined, rubbing against her hand. “Tell me what I’ll need to take care of him, if there’s any forms or anything I need to sign, I’ll do it. I want to keep him.”

Keyleth considered her for a long moment. “If you’re sure,” she said finally.

In the box, the puppy began gnawing on one of Vex’s fingers. Vex smiled.

“I’m sure,” she said. 

Keyleth sighed. “Alright, then. I’ll give you some milk substitute to take with you, but you’ll need to go shopping tomorrow. There’s some papers we usually give to new owners, let me see if I can find…” Keyleth picked up the box with the puppy and pulled Vex back out to the main office. 

Five minutes later, Vex left Ashari Animal Clinic with a bottle of milk substitute, half a dozen papers, and a box containing a gently snoring puppy. Walking slowly so as not to wake him, she made her way back to her apartment.

Vax looked up when she opened the door, stretched out on the couch where she had left him. “What took you so long?” he asked, getting up and walking to her. “I thought you were just going to get…” He trailed off as he took in the contents of her box. “Milk.” He pointed at the puppy. “That’s not milk.”

Vex rolled her eyes. “You’re a genius, brother.” She shoved the box into his arms so she could take off her jacket. “I got us a puppy.” 

Vax blinked. “A puppy? Why?”

Vex shrugged. “He was cute. Do I need a reason?”

“Vex'ahlia.” Vax’s voice was low and warning. “This isn’t one of your trinkets you bring home from the flea market. A dog is a big responsibility.” 

Vex took the box back. Inside, the puppy had woken up again. When she reached in, he rubbed against her hand, tiny nub of a tail wagging gently.

“Trinket,” she said. “I like it.” 

**Author's Note:**

> If y'all are still super sad after reading, please do what I did to research this fic and look up videos of two week old Newfoundland puppies. They're very small and very fluffy.


End file.
